Welcome to our pick of the news from Fethiye and around Turkey.
Curated from various news sources.
NEWS
Fate of Turkey’s oldest theatre near the sea remains uncertain

Nine years have passed since the restoration of the ancient Telmessos theatre in Fethiye was put out to tender in June 2012, work that was planned to be completed in 600 days.
Two years have passed since Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, visited Fethiye before the local elections and spoke to reporters about the significance of the theatre saying, “The work was cancelled due to a problem with the tender. The theatre is significant for us for two reasons, restoring the theatre is important in terms of including it in tourism and, more importantly, the ancient theatre is located in the very centre of Fethiye, the only one located by the sea. Next year, we will include the ancient theatre in Fethiye into the restoration program.”
Although 2 years have passed since this statement, the ancient theatre still stands idle in the centre of the city.
During a visit to Fethiye in February this year, the Muğla Governor discussed the situation with Fethiye Mayor, Alim Karaca and agreed to raise the subject of the restoration of the theatre, Fethiye castle, and Amintas tomb to make an area attractive to tourists and make these historical sites easily accessible.
Fethiye Municipality Council held an evaluation meeting after the Fethiye Municipality’s 2020 annual report in April and have included the ancient theatre in a statement to AK Party Fethiye District President Turgay Öztürk to be brought to the table again saying,
“The restoration of Telmessos Antique Theater, located opposite Fethiye Pier, was interrupted due to legal problems with the contractor company. A solution needs to be reached on this issue in the near future so the restoration can be completed and open to visitors.”
Scorching temperatures across Turkey

Citizens, residents and visitors have experienced scorching heat this week as temperatures rose 4 to 6 degrees above seasonal norms in western and southern Turkey, and 6 to 10 degrees above the whole country at the weekend.
The temperature forecast map published by the General Directorate of Meteorology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, showed a significant increase in temperatures day by day in Muğla and its districts. The forecasts also warned of the temperature in Fethiye rising above 40 degrees at the weekend, with an increase in the humidity rate.
Heat warnings were issued asking people to be careful and stay hydrated.
Source: https://gercekfethiye.com/kavurucu-sicaklar-geliyor/39059/
‘Water’ and ‘drought’ alarm in Muğla
The General Directorate of Meteorology announced a severe drought in some parts of Muğla in recent months. The increase in temperatures at the beginning of the year has caused a decrease in underground and surface water resources in the province. Accordingly, in Muğla, which is the province with the second-highest rainfall in Turkey, precipitation decreased by 80 per cent in the last three months of this year compared to last year. 88 drinking water wells have completely dried up.
MUSKİ General Manager Baki Ülgen said, “Muğla is an important agricultural province besides being a centre of tourism. Since 74 per cent of annual water consumption in Turkey is used in agricultural irrigation, it is of great importance to save water by using drinking and utility water efficiently to alleviate the effects of the drought.”
This year, more than ever, we need to protect our water resources and save more than ever before.
Source: https://gercekfethiye.com/mugla-da–su–ve–kuraklik–alarmi/39057/
Water for wild animals in Fethiye
The Directorate of Cleaning Affairs sent out teams with water tankers to provide water for the wild animals in the area during this hot weather.
Source: Fethiye Belediyesi
These flamingos in Konya weren’t so lucky…
Thousands of flamingos die in drought in central Turkey

Thousands of baby flamingos have died at Turkey’s Lake Tuz in the past two weeks from a drought that environmentalists said was the result of climate change and agricultural irrigation methods.
Drone footage of the large saline lake in Turkey’s central province of Konya showed dead flaminglets lying partially buried in dried mud. Lake Tuz is home to a flamingo colony where up to 10,000 flaminglets are born every year.
Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Bekir Pakdemirli said around 1,000 birds were thought to have died but denied that agriculture was to blame.
“With less water and increased concentration ratio in the water, we observed deaths of flaminglets that were unable to fly,” he said.
“I want to stress that there is no direct or indirect connection between this incident and the wells in the area or the agricultural irrigation.”
Pakdemirli said “the necessary measures” had been taken, without elaborating.
In 2000, Lake Tuz was declared a specially protected area, a designation that aims to protect biological diversity, natural and cultural resources.
Turkey resumes major train lines, including popular Eastern Express

Turkey’s mainline trains, which were suspended in March last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, started operating again this week with 12 different routes into the country’s Anatolian hinterland, offering passengers a unique experience from north to south and east to west.
Covering one of the longest routes in Turkey and offering over 24 hours of train travel, the Eastern Express resumed its services from the eastern province of Kars on July 13.
The overnight passenger train operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), runs 1,310 kilometres between Ankara and Kars railway stations.
The newly resumed lines also included the Southern Express (also known as the Kurtalan Express), the Lake Van Express, the Pamukkale Express, the 9th of September Express, the Ankara Express, the Euphrates Express, the Erciyes Express, the Aegean Express, Konya Blue, Izmir Blue and the Lakes Express.
With the restarting of such train journeys, domestic tourism is expected to gain momentum in many cities and towns with historical, natural and cultural richness.
Sources: Daily Sabah/Hürriyet Daily News
SPORT
Fethiyespor
Thank you to Brian Lloyd for the Fethiyespor updates
Fethiyespor are in the TFF 3. League 3. Group in the 2021-2022 Season.
Training continues for Fethiyespor
Fethiyespor continues training for the new season with sessions increased to morning and evening. Morning sessions take place in the gym/salon and evening sessions at Fethiye Şehir Stadium.
Team updates
Fethiyespor signed a contract with 20-year-old midfielder Berkin Taşkın, who played for Altınordu last season. Fethiyespor signed a contract with left-back player Erdinç Karakaş who played for Esenler Erokspor last season. Fethiyespor signed a contract with striker Ibrahim Koca, who played for Kahramanmaraşspor last season
Fethiyespor player, Ali Han Tunçer, has returned to the team after completing his military service. Tunçer joined the team for training on Saturday evening.
Cemal Şener, also completed his military service and joined the team for morning training on Sunday.
30-year-old winger Anıl Gir, who was the top scorer of the group, has signed a contract with Kütahyaspor.
Gır, who was absent from the team due to injury in the last weeks of the last season, played 30 matches, 29 of which were in the first 11, scored a total of 19 goals, one of which was in the cup, and had the best season of his career
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Turkish Lira (TL) exchange rates
The British Pound bought 11.73 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 12.04 TL.
The US Dollar bought 8.52 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 8.66 TL.
The Euro bought 10.06 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 10.28 TL.
Source: FxexchangeRate.com
Weather Forecast
Here’s your weather forecast for the week ahead.

Source: Living Earth
Today’s featured image “The Xanthos river at Saklıkent” by Lyn Ward.
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The post Fethiye Times News – Week Ending 18 July 2021 appeared first on Fethiye Times.